U.S. patent number 9,057,908 [Application Number 13/371,484] was granted by the patent office on 2015-06-16 for color filter substrate.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Century Technology (Shenzhen) Corporation Limited. The grantee listed for this patent is De-Jiun Li, Chih-Chung Liu, Meng-Chieh Tai, Ming-Tsung Wang. Invention is credited to De-Jiun Li, Chih-Chung Liu, Meng-Chieh Tai, Ming-Tsung Wang.
United States Patent |
9,057,908 |
Liu , et al. |
June 16, 2015 |
Color filter substrate
Abstract
A color filter substrate includes a transparent substrate, a
patterned light-shielding layer, a plurality of color filter units,
and a plurality of dummy color filter units. The transparent
substrate has a display region and a peripheral region surrounding
the display region. The patterned light-shielding layer is disposed
on the transparent substrate, and the patterned light-shielding
layer includes a first light-shielding pattern disposed on the
display region and a second light-shielding pattern disposed on the
peripheral region. The first light-shielding pattern defines a
plurality of sub-pixel regions. The color filter units are disposed
on the display region. The dummy color filter units are disposed on
the peripheral region. Spacing between two adjacent dummy color
filter units or spacing between the color filter unit and the
adjacent dummy color filter unit is wider than spacing between two
adjacent color filter units.
Inventors: |
Liu; Chih-Chung (Guangdong,
CN), Tai; Meng-Chieh (Guangdong, CN), Wang;
Ming-Tsung (Guangdong, CN), Li; De-Jiun
(Guangdong, CN) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Liu; Chih-Chung
Tai; Meng-Chieh
Wang; Ming-Tsung
Li; De-Jiun |
Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong |
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A |
CN
CN
CN
CN |
|
|
Assignee: |
Century Technology (Shenzhen)
Corporation Limited (Shenzhen, CN)
|
Family
ID: |
48609882 |
Appl.
No.: |
13/371,484 |
Filed: |
February 13, 2012 |
Prior Publication Data
|
|
|
|
Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20130155537 A1 |
Jun 20, 2013 |
|
Foreign Application Priority Data
|
|
|
|
|
Dec 20, 2011 [CN] |
|
|
2011 1 0430303 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G02F
1/133514 (20130101); G02B 5/201 (20130101); G02F
2201/52 (20130101); G02F 1/133388 (20210101) |
Current International
Class: |
G02B
5/22 (20060101); G02F 1/133 (20060101); G02F
1/1335 (20060101); G02B 5/20 (20060101); G02F
1/1333 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;359/891,889 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Pham; Thomas K
Assistant Examiner: Pichler; Marin
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Novak Druce Connolly Bove + Quigg
LLP
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A color filter substrate, comprising: a transparent substrate,
wherein the transparent substrate has a display region and a
peripheral region, and the peripheral region surrounds the display
region; a patterned light-shielding layer disposed on the
transparent substrate, wherein the patterned light-shielding layer
comprises a first light-shielding pattern disposed on the display
region and a second light-shielding pattern continuously covering
the whole of the peripheral region, and the first light-shielding
pattern defines a plurality of sub-pixel regions; a plurality of
color filter units disposed on the display region, wherein each of
the color filter units is disposed correspondingly to each of the
sub-pixel regions and partially overlaps the first light-shielding
pattern; and a plurality of dummy color filter units disposed on
the peripheral region, wherein the second light-shielding pattern
is disposed under the dummy color filter units, and spacing between
two adjacent dummy color filter units is wider than spacing between
two adjacent color filter units.
2. The color filter substrate of claim 1, wherein a ratio of the
spacing between two adjacent dummy color filter units to the
spacing between two adjacent color filter units is between 1.2 and
3.
3. The color filter substrate of claim 1, wherein at least some of
the color filter units are disposed adjacent to the dummy color
filter units around a border between the display region and the
peripheral region, and spacing between the color filter unit and
the adjacent dummy color filter unit around the border is wider
than the spacing between the two adjacent color filter units on the
display region.
4. The color filter substrate of claim 3, wherein a ratio of the
spacing between the color filter unit and the adjacent dummy color
filter unit around the border to the spacing between two adjacent
color filter units on the display region is between 1.2 and 3.
5. The color filter substrate of claim 1, wherein an area of each
of the dummy color filter units is smaller than an area of each of
the color filter units.
6. The color filter substrate of claim 5, wherein a ratio of the
area of the dummy color filter unit to the area of the color filter
unit is between 0.2 and 0.8.
7. The color filter substrate of claim 1, wherein a thickness of
each of the dummy color filter units is thinner than a thickness of
each of the color filter units.
8. The color filter substrate of claim 1, further comprising an
over-coating layer covering the transparent substrate, the
patterned light-shielding layer, the color filter units, and the
dummy color filter units, wherein the patterned light-shielding
layer, the color filter units, and the dummy color filter units are
disposed between the over-coating layer and the transparent
substrate.
9. The color filter substrate of claim 8, further comprising an
alignment layer disposed on the over-coating layer.
10. The color filter substrate of claim 1, wherein the color filter
units includes color resists of different colors.
11. The color filter substrate of claim 1, wherein the second
light-shielding pattern covers an edge area of the display region
adjacent to the peripheral region.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a color filter substrate, and more
particularly, to a color filter substrate with wider spacing
between dummy color filter units or wider spacing between a color
filter unit and the dummy color filter unit.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Electronics, such as televisions, cell phones, mobiles, and
refrigerators, often include flat display panels. The liquid
crystal display (LCD) panel has become the mainstream flat display
panel because of its great display performance and low cost.
Generally, the LCD panel includes an array substrate, a color
filter substrate, and a liquid crystal layer sandwiched in-between
the two substrates. The array substrate includes a plurality of
array pixel units for driving liquid crystal molecules in the
liquid crystal layer. The color filter substrate includes a
plurality of color filter units for displaying different
colors.
Please refer to FIGS. 1-2. FIGS. 1-2 are schematic diagrams
partially illustrating the color filter substrate according to a
prior art. FIG. 1 is a top-view diagram, and FIG. 2 is a
cross-sectional view diagram taken along a cross-sectional line
P-P' in FIG. 1. As shown in FIGS. 1-2, a color filter substrate 900
includes a substrate 90, a patterned light-shielding layer 91, a
plurality of color filter units 92, a plurality of dummy color
filter units 93, an over-coating layer 94, and an alignment layer
95. The substrate 90 has a display region AA and a peripheral
region DA. The peripheral region DA surrounds the display region
AA. The patterned light-shielding layer 91 is disposed on the
substrate 90. The patterned light-shielding layer 91 includes a
first light-shielding pattern 91A disposed on the display region AA
and a second light-shielding pattern 91B disposed on the peripheral
region DA. The first light-shielding pattern 91A defines a
plurality of sub-pixel regions PX. The color filter units 92 are
disposed on the display region AA, and each of the color filter
units 92 is disposed correspondingly to each of the sub-pixel
regions PX and partially overlaps the first light-shielding pattern
91A. The dummy color filter units 93 are disposed on the peripheral
region DA, and the second light-shielding pattern 91B is disposed
under the dummy color filter units 93 on the peripheral region DA.
The dummy color filter units 93 and the color filter units 92 are
formed by the same manufacturing process. The dummy color filter
units 93 are employed for improving the display quality around a
border between the display region AA and the peripheral region DA.
In addition, in order to improve the display quality by inhibiting
the phenomenon of light leakage, the second light-shielding pattern
91B has to be large enough to completely block each of the dummy
color filter units 93 as viewed in a direction Z normal to the
substrate 90. After forming the color filter units 92 and the dummy
color filter units 93, the over-coating layer 94 and the alignment
layer 95 are sequentially formed to cover the substrate 90, the
patterned light-shielding layer 91, the color filter units 92, and
the dummy color filter units 93.
Generally, in consideration of production cost and process
simplification, the color filter units 92 and the dummy color
filter units 93 are formed by using an identical photomask.
Therefore, a width W93 of each of the dummy color filter units 93
is equal to a width W92 of each of the color filter units 92, and
spacing P93 between two adjacent dummy color filter units 93 is
equal to spacing P92 between two adjacent color filter units 92, in
addition, a thickness H93 of each of the dummy color filter units
93 is equal to a thickness H92 of each of the color filter units
92. Because the second light-shielding pattern 91B completely
blocks each of the dummy color filter units 93 on the peripheral
region DA and the over-coating layer 94 is not thick enough, a
difference D9 in height between the over-coating layer 94 on the
peripheral region DA and the over-coating layer 94 on the display
region AA may be significant. A subsequent rubbing process on the
alignment layer 95 may be seriously affected by the difference D9
in height around the border between the display region AA and the
peripheral region DA, and defects such as light leakage may
therefore occur.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is one of the objectives of the present invention to provide a
color filter substrate. Spacing between two adjacent dummy color
filter units or spacing between a color filter unit and the dummy
color filter unit is designed to be wider than spacing between two
adjacent color filter units for reducing the difference in height
around the border between the display region and the peripheral
region of the color filter substrate.
According to the present invention, a color filter substrate
includes a transparent substrate, a patterned light-shielding
layer, a plurality of color filter units, and a plurality of dummy
color filter units. The transparent substrate has a display region
and a peripheral region, and the peripheral region surrounds the
display region. The patterned light-shielding layer is disposed on
the transparent substrate, and the patterned light-shielding layer
includes a first light-shielding pattern disposed on the display
region and a second light-shielding pattern disposed on the
peripheral region. The first light-shielding pattern defines a
plurality of sub-pixel regions. The color filter units are disposed
on the display region. Each of the color filter units is disposed
correspondingly to each of the sub-pixel regions and partially
overlaps the first light-shielding pattern. The dummy color filter
units are disposed on the peripheral region, and the second
light-shielding pattern is disposed under the dummy color filter
units. Spacing between two adjacent dummy color filter units or
spacing between the color filter unit and the adjacent dummy color
filter unit is wider than spacing between two adjacent color filter
units.
In the present invention, the dummy color filter units on the
peripheral region or the color filter unit and the adjacent dummy
color filter unit are modified with wider spacing in comparison
with the color filter units on the display region. The difference
in height around the border between the display region and the
peripheral region of the color filter substrate is effectively
reduced, and the related problems may also be improved.
These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt
become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading
the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that
is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIGS. 1-2 are schematic diagrams partially illustrating the color
filter substrate according to a prior art.
FIGS. 3-5 are schematic diagrams partially illustrating the color
filter substrate according to a first preferred embodiment of the
present invention.
FIGS. 6-8 are schematic diagrams partially illustrating the color
filter substrate according to a second preferred embodiment of the
present invention.
FIGS. 9-11 are schematic diagrams partially illustrating the color
filter substrate according to a third preferred embodiment of the
present invention.
FIGS. 12-14 are schematic diagrams partially illustrating the color
filter substrate according to a fourth preferred embodiment of the
present invention.
FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram partially illustrating the color
filter substrate according to a fifth preferred embodiment of the
present invention.
FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram partially illustrating the color
filter substrate according to a sixth preferred embodiment of the
present invention.
FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram partially illustrating the color
filter substrate according to a seventh preferred embodiment of the
present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
To provide a better understanding of the present invention, the
preferred embodiments will be made in detail. The preferred
embodiments of the present invention are illustrated in the
accompanying drawings with numbered elements. In addition, the
terms such as "first" and "second" described in the present
invention are used to distinguish different components or
processes, which do not limit the sequence of the components or
processes.
Please refer to FIGS. 3-5. FIGS. 3-5 are schematic diagrams
partially illustrating the color filter substrate according to a
first preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a
top-view diagram, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view diagram taken
along a cross-sectional line A-A' in FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a
cross-sectional view diagram taken along a cross-sectional line
B-B' in FIG. 3. As shown in FIGS. 3-5, a color filter substrate 101
includes a transparent substrate 10, a patterned light-shielding
layer 11, a plurality of color filter units 12, a plurality of
dummy color filter units 13, an over-coating layer 14, and an
alignment layer 15. The transparent substrate 10 has a display
region AA and a peripheral region DA. The peripheral region DA
surrounds the display region AA. The patterned light-shielding
layer 11 is disposed on the transparent substrate 10. The patterned
light-shielding layer 11 includes a first light-shielding pattern
11A disposed on the display region AA and a second light-shielding
pattern 11B disposed on the peripheral region DA. In this
embodiment, the patterned light-shielding layer 11 is made of
light-absorbing materials, e.g. resin, metal such as chromium (Cr),
and/or metal oxide such as chromium oxide (CrO.sub.x), but not
limited thereto. The first light-shielding pattern 11A defines a
plurality of sub-pixel regions PX within the display region AA. The
color filter units 12 are disposed on the display region AA, and
each of the color filter units 12 is disposed correspondingly to
each of the sub-pixel regions PX and partially overlaps the first
light-shielding pattern 11A. In this embodiment, the sub-pixel
regions PX may include a first sub-pixel region PXA, a second
sub-pixel region PXB, and a third sub-pixel region PXC orderly
arranged along a direction X. Respectively, the color filter units
12 may include a first color filter unit 12A corresponding to the
first sub-pixel region PXA, a second color filter unit 12B
corresponding to the second sub-pixel region PXB, and a third color
filter unit 12C corresponding to the third sub-pixel region PXC.
The first color filter unit 12A, the second color filter unit 12B,
and the third color filter unit 12C are employed to display
different colors such as red, green, and blue, but not limited
thereto. In other words, the color filter substrate 101 may include
color filter units 12 of different colors. The dummy color filter
units 13 are disposed on the peripheral region DA, and the second
light-shielding pattern 11B is disposed under the dummy color
filter units 13 on the peripheral region DA.
In this invention, the color filter units 12 and the dummy color
filter units 13 may be made of color resists of different colors,
but not limited thereto. For instance, the dummy color filter units
13 may include a first dummy color filter unit 13A, a second dummy
color filter unit 13B, and a third dummy color filter unit 13C. The
first color filter unit 12A and the first dummy color filter unit
13A may be made of a same color resist such as a red color resist,
the second color filter unit 12B and the second dummy color filter
unit 13B may be made of a same color resist such as a green color
resist, and the third color filter unit 12C and the third dummy
color filter unit 13C may be made of a same color resist such as a
blue color resist, but the present invention is not limited to
this.
The dummy color filter units 13 are employed for improving the
display quality around a border between the display region AA and
the peripheral region DA. In addition, in order to improve the
display quality by inhibiting the phenomenon of light leakage, the
second light-shielding pattern 11B has to be large enough to
completely block each of the dummy color filter units 13 as viewed
in a direction Z normal to the transparent substrate 10. The
over-coating layer 14 covers the transparent substrate 10, the
patterned light-shielding layer 11, the color filter units 12, and
the dummy color filter units 13. The alignment layer 15 is disposed
on the over-coating layer 14.
It is worth noticing that, in this invention, spacing P13 between
two adjacent dummy color filter units 13 or spacing P11 between the
color filter unit 12 and the adjacent dummy color filter unit 13 is
substantially wider than spacing P12 between two adjacent color
filter units 12. Therefore, the slope of the border area between
the display region AA and the peripheral region DA is lowered and
the related problems, such as light leakage, arising from
subsequent rubbing process on the alignment layer 15 may be
accordingly improved.
In this embodiment, the spacing P13 is directly widened to make the
spacing P13 substantially wider than spacing P12. Specifically, a
ratio of the spacing P13 to the spacing P12 is preferably between
1.2 and 3, but not limited thereto. Because the spacing P13 on the
peripheral region DA is wider than the spacing P12 on the display
region AA, the over-coating layer 14 formed on the peripheral
region DA has wider spacing to be filled. Therefore, a distance T13
from a surface of the over-coating layer 14 to a surface of the
second light-shielding pattern 11B within the peripheral region DA
may become smaller than a distance T12 from the surface of the
over-coating layer 14 to a surface of the transparent substrate 10
within the display region AA, and a difference D1 in height between
the over-coating layer 14 on the peripheral region DA and the
over-coating layer 14 on the display region AA may be reduced so
that the over-coating layer 14 may be relatively flattened
comparing to prior art. Therefore, the slope of the border area
between the display region AA and the peripheral region DA is
lowered and the related problems, such as light leakage, arising
from subsequent rubbing process on the alignment layer 15 may be
accordingly improved.
As shown in FIGS. 3-5, in this embodiment, at least some of the
color filter units 12 are disposed adjacent to the dummy color
filter units 13 around the border between the display region AA and
the peripheral region DA, and the spacing P11 between the color
filter unit 12 and the adjacent dummy color filter unit 13 around
the border may be substantially wider than the spacing P12 between
the two adjacent color filter units 12 on the display region AA for
optimizing a contour of the over-coating layer 14 around the border
between the display region AA and the peripheral region DA, but the
present invention is not limited to this, the spacing P11 may also
be equal to the spacing P12. A ratio of the spacing P11 between the
color filter unit 12 and the adjacent dummy color filter unit 13
around the border to the spacing P12 between two adjacent color
filter units 12 on the display region AA is preferably between 1.2
and 3, but not limited thereto.
In addition, in order to further widen spacing P13, an area of each
of the dummy color filter units 13 may be smaller than an area of
each of the color filter units 12, for example, a width W13 of each
of the dummy color filter units 13 may be substantially smaller
than a width W12 of each of the color filter units 12, or a length
L13 of each of the dummy color filter units 13 may be substantially
smaller than a length L12 of each of the color filter units 12, but
not limited thereto, so that the spacing P13 is substantially much
wider than the spacing P12. Specifically, a ratio of the area of
the dummy color filter unit 13 to the area of the color filter unit
12 is preferably between 0.2 and 0.8, but not limited thereto. In
this embodiment, a thickness H13 of each of the dummy color filter
units 13 is substantially equal to a thickness H12 of each of the
color filter units 12. However, for further reducing the difference
D1 in height between the over-coating layer 14 on the peripheral
region DA and the over-coating layer 14 on the display region AA,
the thickness H13 of each of the dummy color filter units 13 may be
substantially thinner than the thickness H12 of each of the color
filter units 12. An additional process, such as a exposure process
with a half tone mask or a gray tone mask, may be applied for
forming the color filter units 12 and the dummy color filter units
13 with different thicknesses, but the present invention is not
limit to this and may include other methods for forming the color
filter units 12 and the dummy color filter units 13 with different
thicknesses.
The following description will detail the different embodiments of
the color filter substrate in the present invention. To simplify
the description, the identical components in each of the following
embodiments are marked with identical symbols. For making it easier
to compare the difference between the embodiments, the following
description will detail the dissimilarities among different
embodiments and the identical features will not be redundantly
described.
Please refer to FIGS. 6-8. FIGS. 6-8 are schematic diagrams
partially illustrating the color filter substrate according to a
second preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a
top-view diagram, FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view diagram taken
along a cross-sectional line C-C' in FIG. 6, and FIG. 8 is a
cross-sectional view diagram taken along a cross-sectional line
D-D' in FIG. 6. As shown in FIGS. 6-8, in a color filter substrate
102 of this embodiment, in order to widen spacing P16 between two
adjacent dummy color filter units 16, an area of each of the dummy
color filter units 16 is smaller than an area of each of the color
filter units 12, for example, a width W16 of each of the dummy
color filter units 16 is substantially smaller than a width W12 of
the color filter units 12, or a length L16 of each of the dummy
color filter units 16 is substantially smaller than a length L12 of
each of the color filter units 12, but not limited thereto, so that
the spacing P16 is substantially wider than the spacing P12.
Specifically, a ratio of the area of the dummy color filter unit 16
to the area of the color filter unit 12 is preferably between 0.2
and 0.8, but not limited thereto. Additionally, in this embodiment,
spacing P61 between the color filter unit 12 and the adjacent dummy
color filter unit 16 may be substantially equal to the spacing P12
between two adjacent color filter units 12, but not limited
thereto. A thickness H16 of each of the dummy color filter units 16
is substantially equal to a thickness H12 of each of the color
filter units 12, but not limited thereto. In this embodiment,
because the spacing P16 on the peripheral region DA is wider than
the spacing P12 on the display region AA, the over-coating layer 14
formed on the peripheral region DA may have wider spacing to be
filled. Therefore, a distance T16 from a surface of the
over-coating layer 14 to a surface of the second light-shielding
pattern 11B within the peripheral region DA may become smaller than
a distance T12 from the surface of the over-coating layer 14 to a
surface of the transparent substrate 10 within the display region
AA and a difference D6 in height between the over-coating layer 14
on the peripheral region DA and the over-coating layer 14 on the
display region AA may be reduced so that the over-coating layer 14
may be relatively flattened comparing to prior art. Therefore, the
slope of the border area between the display region AA and the
peripheral region DA in the color filter substrate 102 is lowered
and the related problems, such as light leakage, arising from
subsequent rubbing process on the alignment layer 15 may be
accordingly improved.
Please refer to FIGS. 9-11. FIGS. 9-11 are schematic diagrams
partially illustrating the color filter substrate according to a
third preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a
top-view diagram, FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view diagram taken
along a cross-sectional line E-E' in FIG. 9, and FIG. 11 is a
cross-sectional view diagram taken along a cross-sectional line
H-H' in FIG. 9. As shown in FIGS. 9-11, in a color filter substrate
103 of this embodiment, spacing P71 between the color filter unit
12 and an adjacent dummy color filter unit 17 is substantially
wider than the spacing P12 between two adjacent color filter units
12. Spacing P17 between the dummy color filter 17 may be equal to
the spacing P12 between the color filter units 12, but not limited
thereto. A ratio of the spacing P71 between the color filter unit
12 and the adjacent dummy color filter unit 17 around the border to
the spacing P12 between two adjacent color filter units 12 on the
display region AA is preferably between 1.2 and 3, but not limited
thereto. In addition, in this embodiment, an area of each of the
dummy color filter units 17 may be substantially equal to an area
of each of the color filter units 12, for example, a width W17 of
each of the dummy color filter units 17 may be substantially equal
to a width W12 of the color filter units 12, and a length L17 of
each of the dummy color filter units 17 may be substantially equal
to a length L12 of each of the color filter units 12, but not
limited thereto. In this embodiment, a thickness H17 of each of the
dummy color filter units 17 is substantially equal to a thickness
H12 of each of the color filter units 12. A distance T17 from a
surface of the over-coating layer 14 to a surface of the second
light-shielding pattern 11B within the peripheral region DA may
become smaller than a distance T12 from the surface of the
over-coating layer 14 to a surface of the transparent substrate 10
within the display region AA, and a difference D7 in height between
the over-coating layer 14 on the peripheral region DA and the
over-coating layer 14 on the display region AA may be reduced.
Therefore, the slope of the border area between the display region
AA and the peripheral region DA in the color filter substrate 103
is lowered and the related problems, such as light leakage, arising
from subsequent rubbing process on the alignment layer 15 may be
accordingly improved.
Please refer to FIGS. 12-14. FIGS. 12-14 are schematic diagrams
partially illustrating the color filter substrate according to a
fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12 is a
top-view diagram, FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view diagram taken
along a cross-sectional line G-G' in FIG. 12, and FIG. 14 is a
cross-sectional view diagram taken along a cross-sectional line
F-F' in FIG. 12. As shown in FIGS. 12-14, in a color filter
substrate 104 of this embodiment, spacing P18 between two adjacent
dummy color filter units 18 is substantially wider than the spacing
P12 between two adjacent color filter units 12, and spacing P81
between the color filter unit 12 and the adjacent dummy color
filter unit 18 around the border is substantially wider than the
spacing P12 between the two adjacent color filter units 12 on the
display region AA for optimizing a contour of the over-coating
layer 14 around the border between the display region AA and the
peripheral region DA so that the over-coating layer 14 formed on
the peripheral region DA may have wider spacing to be filled.
Therefore, a distance T18 from a surface of the over-coating layer
14 to a surface of the second light-shielding pattern 11B within
the peripheral region DA may become much smaller than a distance
T12 from the surface of the over-coating layer 14 to a surface of
the transparent substrate 10 within the display region AA and a
difference D8 in height between the over-coating layer 14 on the
peripheral region DA and the over-coating layer 14 on the display
region AA may be reduced so that the over-coating layer 14 may be
relatively flattened comparing to prior art. Therefore, the slope
of the border area between the display region AA and the peripheral
region DA in the color filter substrate 104 is lowered and the
related problems, such as light leakage, arising from subsequent
rubbing process on the alignment layer 15 may be accordingly
improved.
In addition, in order to widen spacing P18 more, an area of each of
the dummy color filter units 18 is smaller than an area of each of
the color filter units 12, for example, a width W18 of each of the
dummy color filter units 18 is substantially smaller than a width
W12 of each of the color filter units 12, or a length L18 of each
of the dummy color filter units 18 is substantially smaller than a
length L12 of each of the color filter units 12, but not limited
thereto, so that the spacing P18 is substantially much wider than
spacing P12, and the border between the display region AA and the
peripheral region DA in the color filter substrate 104 may be
smoother. Specifically, a ratio of the area of the dummy color
filter unit 18 to the area of the color filter unit 12 is
preferably between 0.2 and 0.8, but not limited thereto.
Please refer to FIG. 15. FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram partially
illustrating the color filter substrate according to a fifth
preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 15,
in this embodiment, a color filter substrate 200 includes a
transparent substrate 10, a patterned light-shielding layer 11, a
plurality of color filter units 12, a plurality of dummy color
filter units 23, an over-coating layer 14, and an alignment layer
15. In this embodiment, spacing P23 between two adjacent dummy
color filter units 23 is substantially wider than the spacing P12
between two adjacent color filter units 12, spacing P21 between the
color filter unit 12 and the adjacent dummy color filter unit 23
around the border between the display region AA and the peripheral
region DA is substantially wider than the spacing P12 between the
two adjacent color filter units 12 on the display region AA, and a
thickness H23 of each of the dummy color filter units 23 is
substantially thinner than a thickness H12 of each of the color
filter units 12 so that the over-coating layer 14 formed on the
peripheral region DA may have wider spacing to be filled.
Therefore, a distance T23 from the surface of the over-coating
layer 14 to the surface of the second light-shielding pattern 11B
within the peripheral region DA may become much smaller than the
distance T12 from the surface of the over-coating layer 14 to a
surface of the transparent substrate 10 within the display region
AA and a difference D2 in height between the over-coating layer 14
on the peripheral region DA and the over-coating layer 14 on the
display region AA may be reduced. Therefore, the slope of the
border area between the display region AA and the peripheral region
DA is lowered.
In addition, an area of each of the dummy color filter units 23 is
substantially smaller than an area of each of the color filter
units 12 as viewed in the direction Z, for example, a width W23 of
each of the dummy color filter units 23 is substantially smaller
than a width W12 of each of the color filter units 12, or a length
(not shown) of each of the dummy color filter units 23 is
substantially smaller than a length (not shown) of each of the
color filter units 12. Except for the dummy color filter units 23,
the color filter substrate 200 of this embodiment is similar to the
color filter substrate 104 of the fourth preferred embodiment
detailed above and will not be redundantly described.
Please refer to FIG. 16. FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram partially
illustrating the color filter substrate according to a sixth
preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 16,
in this embodiment, a color filter substrate 300 includes a
transparent substrate 10, a patterned light-shielding layer 11, a
plurality of color filter units 12, a plurality of dummy color
filter units 33, an over-coating layer 14, and an alignment layer
15. In this embodiment, spacing P33 between two adjacent dummy
color filter units 33 is substantially wider than the spacing P12
between two adjacent color filter units 12, and spacing P31 between
the color filter unit 12 and the adjacent dummy color filter unit
33 around the border between the display region AA and the
peripheral region DA is substantially wider than the spacing P12
between the two adjacent color filter units 12 on the display
region AA so that the over-coating layer 14 formed on the
peripheral region DA may have wider spacing to be filled.
Therefore, a distance T33 from the surface of the over-coating
layer 14 to the surface of the second light-shielding pattern 11B
within the peripheral region DA may become smaller than the
distance T12 from the surface of the over-coating layer 14 to a
surface of the transparent substrate 10 within the display region
AA and a difference D3 in height between the over-coating layer 14
on the peripheral region DA and the over-coating layer 14 on the
display region AA may be further reduced. Therefore, the slope of
the border area between the display region AA and the peripheral
region DA is lowered.
It is worth noticing that, in this embodiment, an area of each of
the dummy color filter units 33 is substantially equal to an area
of each of the color filter units 12 as viewed in the direction Z,
for example, a width W33 of each of the dummy color filter units 33
is substantially equal to a width W12 of each of the color filter
units 12, and a length (not shown) of each of the dummy color
filter units 33 is substantially equal to a length (not shown) of
each of the color filter units 12. Additionally, a thickness H33 of
each of the dummy color filter units 33 may be substantially equal
to a thickness H12 of each of the color filter units 12. In other
words, except for the spacing P12, the spacing P33 and the spacing
P31, the dummy color filter units 33 are similar to the color
filter units 12 in shape, and related manufacturing process may
accordingly be simplified. Except for the dummy color filter units
33, the color filter substrate 300 of this embodiment is similar to
the color filter substrate 104 of the fourth preferred embodiment
detailed above and will not be redundantly described.
Please refer to FIG. 17. FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram partially
illustrating the color filter substrate according to a seventh
preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 17,
in this embodiment, a color filter substrate 400 includes a
transparent substrate 10, a patterned light-shielding layer 11, a
plurality of color filter unit 12, a plurality of dummy color
filter unit 43, an over-coating layer 14, and an alignment layer
15. In this embodiment, spacing P43 between two adjacent dummy
color filter units 43 is substantially wider than the spacing P12
between two adjacent color filter units 12, spacing P41 between the
color filter unit 12 and the adjacent dummy color filter unit 43
around the border between the display region AA and the peripheral
region DA is substantially wider than the spacing P12 between the
two adjacent color filter units 12 on the display region AA, and a
thickness H43 of each of the dummy color filter units 43 is
substantially thinner than a thickness H12 of each of the color
filter units 12 so that the over-coating layer 14 formed on the
peripheral region DA may have wider spacing to be filled.
Therefore, a distance T43 from the surface of the over-coating
layer 14 to a surface of the second light-shielding pattern 11B
within the peripheral region DA may become smaller than the
distance T12 from the surface of the over-coating layer 14 to the
surface of the transparent substrate 10 within the display region
AA and a difference D4 in height between the over-coating layer 14
on the peripheral region DA and the over-coating layer 14 on the
display region AA may be reduced. Therefore, the slope of the
border area between the display region AA and the peripheral region
DA is lowered.
It is worth noticing that, in this embodiment, an area of each of
the dummy color filter units 43 is substantially equal to an area
of each of the color filter units 12 as viewed in the direction Z,
for example, a width W43 of each of the dummy color filter units 43
is substantially equal to a width W12 of the color filter units 12,
and a length (not shown) of each of the dummy color filter units 43
is substantially equal to a length (not shown) of each of the color
filter units 12, and related manufacturing process may accordingly
be simplified. Except for the dummy color filter units 43, the
color filter substrate 400 of this embodiment is similar to the
color filter substrate 104 of the fourth preferred embodiment
detailed above and will not be redundantly described.
In conclusion, the spacing between each of the dummy color filter
units or the spacing between the color filter unit and the adjacent
dummy color filter unit around the border between the display
region AA and the peripheral region DA may be widened for improving
the difference in height around the border between the display
region and the peripheral region of the color filter substrate in
the present invention, and the related problems may be accordingly
improved.
Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous
modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made
while retaining the teachings of the invention.
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